glider18's Wonderful World of Autism

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Well...it has been awhile since anyone has posted to this thread. I thought I would add a couple interests that have re-submerged since I started it.

Since I started this thread I now have over twenty pinewood derby cars on the dining table. Oops---I got carried away I think. But it was fun. Ebay loved me. I have always loved the old derby cars from the '60s and early '70s---narrow tires and seperate axle blocks---for you former scouts.

Oh...and I started collecting Tru Vue 3D stereo cards from the '50s and '60s. I had a fascination with them as a child, and I have been trying to find this one particular scene that I can't find.

What I would like to add here about the wonderful world of autism is that if often causes me to go on a quest. I find quests to be fun and exciting. I will search and search for that Tru Vue scene until I find it---or just give up on finding it. I made a post about this Tru Vue card on the Random Discussion. It was a long row of Lombardy Poplars with a castle/house? in the distance. That image so captivated me as a child that even today when I see a picture of Lombardy Poplars I get excited in a childhood magical kind of way.

I love the way I can step outside and become completely absorbed in the beautiful and vibrant colours and textures and light around me, in the leaves and trees, and the tiny details, and I can't really describe it in words anyway but suffice to say I could easily spend an hour looking at a single leaf.

I love my passion for reading fantasy (my special interest), for me nothing can compare to the pure ecstasy of being immersed in a good fantasy novel - food, sexual stuff, all that stuff other people rant on about can't even come close to 5% of the feeling I get from this, and I strongly believe these feelings are caused by my AS.

I love creative writing of poetry and stories, and I love when people enjoy my work because they say that they really can become immersed and drawn into it.

I love the way I can sit at a piano and write music for voice and piano without needing theory or chords or any of that structured stuff to create something that has meaning and makes you feel something.

I love the way I get immersed in artwork, and can come up with an endless stream of unique ideas and produce artworks and that original and different from everybody elses.

I love the way I look at the intense, vivid, and *alive* details in things instead of the dull and blurred but I suppose more informative overall picture. (Like looking at the highest quality digital image compared to an old fuzzy colour TV).

Thank you for the beautiful post sunshower. I am almost at a loss of words after hearing you describe this. It is truly beautiful. I also appreciate beyond measure how I can absorb myself into something that most people would grow tired of quickly. I too, as you probably know, relate this to AS. And I have a strong passion for music and writing too. I have several poems I would love to share sometime. I showed a couple of them to my therapist. I would like to post them, but I have always been cautious about doing so without having a copyright on them. Have you ever done anything like that? I truly would love for those of us with a poetic gift to be able to share our works.

Again, thank your for your post.

Ah yes, I've written several hundred poems in the last few years, and have some of them posted online so anyone can look at them if they like. I suppose I trust people not to copy them. Here is the link if you'd like to read them: http://www.fictionpress.com/~sunshower I'd like to read yours too.

Some poems are better than others (obviously), and there's a lot there, so if you're unsure, go for the ones with more reviews.

I have started a new collection: I have two Brownie box cameras as well as the Zenit 3 Glider gave me. I still haven't used it yet, but I'm going to buy film for it tomorrow. I just hope it doesn't rain.
I have also started to get into video games. I now have a SNES (Super Nintendo) and Game Boy Advance. I now can play games on 4 different Nintendo consoles.
I love collecting and being able to spend hours with my special interests.
I so want to start writing books or screenplays but just can't make myself sit down and start writing. I have at least started reading again.

I am the same, although I have managed to write poems (as they are shorter). I think reading helps a lot, I know that in my heaviest times of reading I found writing stories the easiest. Good luck!

sunshower---I just read some of your poems---they are truly great. I can tell you have put yourself into them. They read very well. Anyone should be proud to have written them. I will be anxious to read more of them.

pensieve---I think you have now caught the fever of camera collecting. Enjoy. I do hope the Zenit 3 works well. It looked like it was in good shape. As for video games, they can get very addictive. My first video game (and this is showing my age) was Atari Super Pong (early 1970s).

*Daniel dusts off his favourite piece of poetic prose and gives his never-ending negativity to the world, for positivity is but one painful path in this place*

-the autistic tin man, who is never coming to a store near you

That's a good thing though. I might be lucky to get an Atari emulator on my computer, but would have to be searching and fighting others on Ebay for it. I'd be extremely lucky to find it in a video game store. I saw a Nintendo 64 in there once.
I also read sunshowers poems. They are amazing, so descriptive.


Thanks. I like reading several different types of books or watching several different types of film (even really bad films) to get ideas. I'm just going to have to sit down one day and do nothing until I write my first chapter.

I am glad to see the "fire" of writing in some of us. For those of us with this passion, that is something wonderful about autism. I just want to get my novel finished---I've been working on it for five years. My problem is I write a few days on it, then I let it sit for several weeks. There are so many distractions in my house it is often hard to write in a conducive environment. But I may have a remedy for that---a private place out of the way of others. For me (though I have never used it for my writing space yet) it is my old 1961 Airstream camper. I am slowly getting it fixed up and I want to use it for my own creative writing space. For anyone else who writes---do you have a special place where you go to write?

There are many abilities and benefits that result from my autism; I will stick to the positive (even though, at the moment, it is being somewhat overwhelmed):

great attention to detail
deep thought and consideration
concern with social justice
understanding of suffering
artistic and scientific abilities
aesthetic appreciation
sensory pleasures
excellent long-term memory

and more.


Danielismyname: Sincere apologies if I'm being insensitive, but you tapped into my dark humour (:

I just performed another music ministry service this past Sunday---and even though I felt immensely awkward with the speaking part of it, I feel ok about it now. It has really helped me to realize that AS causes my awkwardness in public speaking. I can relax now in speaking. I told the congregation near the beginning of my service that I was autistic---and it seemed to ease me into my church service in that I felt ok about the awkwardness. The people seemed responsive to my delivery. And after the service a lot of people had questions about my various musical instruments.

After my diagnosis of AS this past November, there have been a lot of things I have pondered over---such as my unusual childhood, my intense interests, my lack of a social life, etc. And I have no regrets. I cannot imagine not having autism. I am sorry if I offend some of you with that statement because not all who are autistic are happy with it. But, I do share my feelings with the WrongPlanet---I have nothing to hide about my autism.

I realize that I am an autistic savant. My savant skills lie in music. Ever since I was a child, I was amazing people with my music. And today, people still want me to play music for them. When I play music, it is not uncommon for almost everything to phase out around me. I become encapsulated in a little dome of existence where it is me and the musical instrument. I do not exactly know what I am doing at the time---but the music comes out. I have videotaped myself playing before and I don't exactly recognize the man I see playing the instrument. All I can say is---the music just happens. If I try to concentrate on my playing---I usually mess up. I try to remain in the trance-like state---and as I said before---the music just happens.

chuckle.


I think there are great things about my autsim.
I look and I see far more than the average person. I absorb far more than the average person.
I can live for my painting and i know there is a distinction between me and other artists in my field. They get artists' blocks and have problems keeping the energy going. I am the opposite. I need to force myself to stop sometimes so the other areas of my life do not get neglected. (my son.) what f***s me is social interaction, NOT my work.
I approach my career in an absolutely novel and individualised fashion and those that mind do not matter and those that matter don't mind.
I collect small elephants. must be a ganesh thing.
I also collect bits of brass and little objects.
I am in ecstasy over patterns. i see them everywhere. they make me feel good and secure.

I am lucky.
i like this thread Glider18. It seems so nice to focus on some good things and not all the doom and gloom.
Life is amazing. Special interests for me are actually better than the best drugs i ever had in my younger years.
I am glad i am alive. (today.)

Thanks Millie for the wonderful post. It's always nice to hear from people like you that see the good in things. I am probably going to be off base here, but it is an interesting little thought I came up with:

What if autism is meant to be an incredible gift that allows its "chosen few" to do incredible things? What if it is such an enormous gift that it must be unlocked by those who have it. If we unlock it, accept it, and use it, we can do amazing things. But, if it isn't unlocked, then those people tend to be unhappy. So---it's like autism is given as a gift to a small amount of people who have the opportunity to use its potential to do extraordinary things. The price paid for this gift is usually a lack of social skills. I basically have no true friends, but I have adjusted to this fact and accept it willingly---I enjoy my family though---they are my friends.

I believe each one of us with autism has the ability to find his/her gift and use it to do something incredible. It is fun to collect and research those intense interests. I appreciate your interest in small elephants and brass objects Millie---it is joyful to find new treasures.

Millie, you are a truly gifted artist---I hope others here have checked out your work from your website. You have opened your gift and accepted it.

I am lying here in bed trying to get sleepy. I just made my 1000th post a few minutes ago. I thought I would show a picture of the Hammond organ I play (this is an internet picture of the exact model as mine). I love music . As a child, electronic organs fascinated me---they still fascinate me.

Tomorrow I am going to the local library and listening to a speaker on autism. I believe she may view autism the same way I do---as a gift. I am anxious to meet her and hear what she has to say.